Please click the link below to view Pastor Wright’s Sermon message for today. https://youtu.be/LA_rSwv37q0
March 25, 2020 – Week 4: The Cup That I Drink
Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink.” Mark 10:39
Opening Hymn – Today Your Mercy Calls Us – LSB 915 (verses 1, 2 & 4)
- Today your mercy calls us to wash away our sin.
However great our trespass, whatever we have been,
However long from mercy our hearts have turned away,
Your precious blood can wash us and make us clean today. - Today your gate is open, and all who enter in
Shall find a Father’s welcome and pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten, a present joy be giv’n.
A future grace be promised, a glorious crown in heav’n. - O all-embracing Mercy, O ever-open Door,
What should we do without you when heart and eye run o’er?
When all things seem against us, to drive us to despair,
We know one gate is open, one ear will hear our prayer.
Invocation and Litany
P In the name of the Father, and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
C Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
P Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
C My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
P Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
C Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
P For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? …
C The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.
Confession and Absolution
P Let us confess our sins to God and ask his forgiveness for the sake of Jesus our Lord.
C Almighty God, we have sinned against you in our thoughts, words and actions. Instead of serving others in love, as Jesus did, we seek to put our own good above the good of others. We do not truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Forgive us for Jesus’ sake and help us to live as your humble servants.
P God sent his Son to be our Savior. On the cross Jesus suffered the penalty of death in our place. Through his suffering, death and resurrection we have forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life. I announce to you that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
C The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer!
Prayer of the Day
P Almighty God, Jesus our Lord came not to be served but to serve. He came to give his life as a ransom for us, to bring us into a right relationship with you. Obedient to your holy will, he drank the cup of suffering. To save us he drank the cup of your wrath against sin. If we are mocked or ridiculed for our faith, help us to bear that cross in confident faith. We ask you to be with your saints around the world who are persecuted for their faith. Help them to bear that suffering with patience, knowing that through Christ Jesus, the victory already belongs to them. Hear our prayer and accept our praise in the name of Jesus, who offered up his life for us. Amen.
Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 51:21-23
Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”
Epistle Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11
But since we belong to the day, let us be so-ber, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Gospel Reading – Mark 10:35-45
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indig-nant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gen-tiles lord it over them, and their great ones ex-ercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoev-er would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Sermon Hymn – Son of God, Eternal Savior – LSB #842 (verses 1 &2)
- Son of God, eternal Savior,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
Hallows all our human race,
You our Head, who, throned in glory,
For your own will ever plead:
Fill us with your love and pity,
Heal our wrongs and help our need. - As you, Lord have lived for others,
So may we for others live.
Freely have your gifts been granted;
Freely may your servants give.
Yours the gold and yours the silver,
Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of your bounty
Held in solemn trust will be
Sermon – “The Cup That I Drink”
P “Teacher’s pet!” Did you ever say that to anyone in grade school? Did anyone ever say that to you? You know what it means. It was that boy or girl who knew all the answers, who got the best grades, who could do no wrong—and even if that special student was in the wrong, they never got in trouble for it. Maybe even as adults you have seen the same thing at work, that one particular employee who gets all of the best assignments, even if he isn’t especially talented, and certainly not as talented as you! It’s the employee who could rob the place and the boss would turn a blind eye to it all. We never quite get over those teacher’s pets.
In our Gospel reading today, James and John want to be the teacher’s pets. They seem to think they already are the teacher’s pets, teacher with a capital “T.” They deserve special treatment, or so they imagine. Listen to the demand they make of their Teacher, the Son of God: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” It seems that they did not recall Jesus’ earlier lessons about humble service, but they had no trouble remembering the lessons on confident prayer: “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Certain that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and confident that he will reign in glory over Israel, James and John ask for places of honor in the kingdom. They want to be seated at Jesus’ side, reigning beside the King at his right and left, right next to the throne. Jesus doesn’t grant their re-quest, but he has a brief quiz for them. It seems that there are some job requirements for such exalt-ed positions.
Jesus responds, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Jesus will soon drain a terrible cup of agony and death. He will be baptized, drowned, in a fiery river of suffering. The two disciples respond that yes, they are able to share the baptism and the cup. Jesus tells them that they will do just that. In the years to come the two disciples will share with their Lord the cup of suffering as they endure the earliest acts of persecution against Jesus’ followers. James will be murdered by King Herod. While John may be the only disciple to escape martyrdom, he will be exiled because of his faith. Though they will suffer for their faith, Jesus does not grant their request. Only the heavenly Father can grant those places of honor in the throne room of heaven.
The other disciples are angry about the request of James and John. They don’t want any teacher’s pets within their ranks, and it is not the first time the disciples have argued about “who is the great-est.” It is time for another lesson from the Teacher, a lesson in humble service, with Jesus himself as the object lesson, the illustration. The Gentiles, the unbelievers, like to lord it over each other, Jesus said. They like to throw their authority around. But it must not be that way among the children of God, among the followers of Jesus Christ. If you want to be great, Jesus said, be the servant. If you want to be first in line, you must be the slave of the others. It’s not how the world works, but it is how things are done in the kingdom of God. There are no teacher’s pets here. There are servants. That is how we are to live, humbly seeking ways to help and serve each other just as Jesus came to help and serve us. What would it look like to put others first, ahead of yourself, in your family, among your friends, in your workplace, in this congregation? What would it look like to think of what is good for others instead of what is good for yourself? We are called to follow in the servant footsteps of our humble King. Jesus is God in the flesh, the one for whom and by whom the universe was created. Yet even the Ruler of all things did not come among us to be served. He came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
On the cross Jesus would drink the terrible cup of suffering. He would drink the cup of God’s wrath against human sin. The prophet Isaiah calls it the bowl of God’s wrath, the cup of staggering. Yet God also promises through his prophet that his people will not have to drink it. He will take the cup of wrath from their hands. He will give that cup to his own Son. In Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed and pleaded with his Father. In his distress, Jesus’ sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood as he begged, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus came to serve. He came to put our good ahead of his own. In humble obedience he submitted to his Father’s will and drank the full cup of God’s anger against our sin, against the sins of the world. Jesus drained the cup of wrath to the last drop, so there would be nothing left in it for us to drink.
Jesus our Servant-King offers us a cup to drink, but it is not the cup of suffering and wrath. It is the cup of salvation, the cup of wine that is his blood, with the bread that is his body. It is a cup that nourishes our faith for a life of service, for a life of putting the good of others ahead of our own good. It is a cup that nourishes our faith for eternal life. Jesus said, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54). Jesus offers us the cup of life. Drink up! Amen.
Hymn of Response – Son of God, Eternal Savior – LSB #842 (verses 3 & 4)
- Come, O Christ, and reign among us,
King of love and Prince of Peace;
Hush the storm of strife and passion,
Bid its cruel discords cease.
By your patient years of toiling,
By your silent hours of pain,
Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure,
Stem our selfish greed of gain. - Son of God, eternal Savior,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
Hallows all our human race:
By your praying, by your willing
That your people should be one,
Grant, O grant our hope’s fruition:
Here on earth your will be done.
Offering (Just a reminder you may drop off your weekly offerings at the Drive Thru Window of Pathway Bank in Cairo)
Prayers
P Jesus, Servant-King,
C Hear our prayer.
+
P Lord Jesus, you did not come among us to be served, but to serve and to give your life to ransom us. Help us to walk in your footsteps, serving others in your name and bringing to them the good news of salvation. Jesus, Servant-King,
C Hear our prayer.
P Lord Jesus, there are many people who could benefit from our loving service. Help us to seek out opportunities to bring hope and comfort to those who are hurting, especially … and all those we name in our hearts. Jesus, Servant-King,
C Hear our prayer.
P Lord Jesus, you drained the cup of suffering and wrath so that we would never drink from it. Through faith in your name we have forgiveness for our sins. Feed us now with your body and blood in your holy Supper. Keep our faith strong until the day when we live in your presence forever. Jesus, Servant-King,
C Hear our prayer.
P Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
P Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
C And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
P For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
C And to give his life as a ransom for many.
P Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn – Lord Jesus, Think on Me – LSB #610 (verses 1,2 & 4,5)
- Lord Jesus, think on me
And purge away my sin;
From worldly passions set me free
And make me pure within. - Lord Jesus, think on me,
By anxious thoughts oppressed;
Let me your loving servant be
And taste your promised rest. - Lord Jesus, think on me
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point out your chosen way. - Lord Jesus, think on me,
That, when this life is past,
I may the eternal brightness see
And share your joy at last.
By Carol Geisler. © 2020 Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc., 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325-9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Permission given to post.
Christ Lutheran Church
Cairo, NE
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
